Kohbukan Sisu Judo & Jiu Jitsu - The History of Judo

A History of Judo: From the Meiji to
the Present
The Meiji Period (1868-1912) of Japanese
history was an era of immense change. Japan
had closed its doors to the West some two
centuries earlier under the power of the
ruling Shogunate, and as a result remained
virtually unchanged both politically and
industrially, during this period. It after
a number of unsuccessful attempts by Western
nations to establish trade with the Japanese
during the mid-nineteenth that the United
States finally managed to gain a foothold
at the Dutch-maintained trading post of
Deshima in Nagasaki. This occurred as a
result of two notable expeditions: the first
by Commodore James Biddle in 1846, and the
second by Commodore James Glynn in 1849.
However, it was the arrival of Commodore
Matthew Perry in 1853 that permanently set
the wheels of change in motion. Perry brought
word from then U.S. President, Millard Fillmore,
demanding that Japan establish trading and
diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Fillmore also threatened the use of force
if these terms were not met. As a result,
a treaty of amity was signed by the following
year between the U.S. and Japan, effectively
ending the isolation from the West that
had lasted since 1639. Similar treaties
followed with Britain, France, Russia, and
the Netherlands, thus beginning Japan's
rapid modernization.

Modernization brought with it the need to
adopt many Western conventions. A Western
style constitutional government, a new capitalistic
outlook, and the development of Western
technology were all important aspects of
this process. At first glance it might appear
that this process of modernization was a
one-way street, with Japan receiving and
the West giving, but this was not always
the case. Many Japanese traveled to Europe
and America to study, and conversely, many
Westerners came to Japan to study and teach.
Through this exchange system, many aspects
of Japanese culture were brought to the
West. Japanese aesthetics, art, and architecture
were some of the things appreciated by those
in the West. Another of these "gifts" to
the West was judo. Judo was originally introduced
to Europe and America at the turn of the
century, and has since become a highly popular,
international Olympic sport. The International
Judo Federation, founded in 1951, now boasts
well over 180 national member federations,
and is still growing.

In order for one to fully understand judo,
it is important to know where judo came
from, and where its roots lie. Judo evolved
from the ancient Japanese art of jujutsu.
While the exact origins of jujutsu are somewhat
of a mystery, most historians tend to agree
on certain chronicled events regarding jujutsu.
The most popular theory has to do with a
battle of strength between two men, Nominosukune
and Taimono Kehaya, which occurred during
the reign of Emperor Suijin (A.D. 249-280).
This battle was an arduous affair involving
various grappling and hand-to-hand combat
techniques. The eventual victor was Nominosukune,
who defeated his opponent by kicking him
to death. The result of this contest was
the formation of two distinct schools of
combat; one developed into modern-day sumo
wrestling, the other into jujutsu. Through
centuries of actual battlefield experience,
jujutsu became a highly effective means
of attack and defense for the samurai of
Japan.

It was not until the Sengoku period (1477-1603),
also known as the "Age of Wars", that the
techniques of jujutsu began to be taught
at different schools or ryu. Each school
focused on its own unique form of jujutsu.
One of the first ryu to gain widespread
fame throughout Japan was the Takeuchi ryu,
which originated in 1532. In a famous fight,
a member of the Takeuchi ryu successfully
defeated a much larger opponent, thus demonstrating
the obvious effectiveness of jujutsu as
a form of hand-to-hand combat. Many other
schools developed during the Sengoku and
Tokugawa (1604-1868) periods. Among the
more famous of these schools were the Yoshi
ryu, Jikishin ryu, Kito ryu, and the Tenshin-Shinyo
ryu.

In 1860, Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo,
was born in Miyage in Yamagata prefecture.
Kano was said to be a man of "weak constitution",
and took up jujutsu in hopes of strengthening
his mind and body. Kano studied many forms
of jujutsu and in 1878 he became a student
of the Tenshin-Shinyo ryu under the instruction
of Masters Hachinosuke Fukuda and Masatomo
Iso. He also studied the techniques of the
Kito ryu under Master Tsunetoshi Ikubo.
Kano continued his diligent study of jujutsu,
eventually perfecting his own techniques
to which he gave the name, Nippon den Kodokan
Judo, in its shortened form, Judo. "Ju"
comes from the Japanese rendering of a Chinese
word meaning "gentle" or "supple", and is
related to the notion of giving way to an
opponents strength rather than resisting
it. "Do" means "way" or "path", as opposed
to "jutsu" which means "art". In so naming
judo, Kano wished to distinguish his new
school from those of jujutsu. Kano wrote
that, "Jujutsu ryu employed dangerous practices
such as throwing by quite incorrect methods
or by applying torsion to the limbs." In
judo, Kano wished to create a sport that
could be practiced and enjoyed by all, while,
at the same time, remaining physically challenging
and competitive.

In 1882, at the age of twenty-three and
while still a student at Tokyo's Imperial
University, Jigoro Kano opened a school
for his "judo". He called this school the
Kodokan, literally meaning, "place for studying
the way". The original Kodokan was located
in Shitaya and had only twelve mats (3'x
6' each) and nine students. When Jigoro
Kano passed away in 1938, at the age of
78, there were over 100,000 black belts
in judo. There are now millions of black
belts registered at the modern Kodokan in
downtown Tokyo. The Kodokan is now also
the headquarters of the All Japan Judo Federation
and is a mecca for judo players around the
world. The eight-storied building includes
a museum, weight training facilities, dormitories
and six separate dojo, with the main dojo
holding over 400 mats.

Jigoro Kano was a very well educated man;
he spoke English fluently, was headmaster
of two prominent Japanese schools, and was
an accomplished writer. An accomplished
scholar, Kano achieved the title of Professor
and became the president of the faculty
of Physical Education at the prestigious
Tokyo University. Soon after, in 1911, educational
institutions throughout Japan began including
judo as part of their curriculum.

In order to further promote judo worldwide,
Kano made numerous trips overseas. He visited
Britain in 1920, and the United States in
1932 as the honourary president of the Japanese
Amateur Athletic Federation at the Olympic
Games in Los Angeles. Kano also helped found
the Japanese Olympic Committee and attended
the International Olympic Conference in
Cairo in 1938, in hopes of fulfilling his
dream of having judo recognized as an Olympic
sport. Sadly, Professor Kano died at sea
while returning from the conference. Although
in a fitting tribute to the founder of judo,
Kano's dream was finally realized when the
Games were held in Tokyo in 1964, and judo
was made an official Olympic sport.

Europe received its first exposure to jujutsu
in 1899, when Yukio Tani (1881-1951) and
his brother arrived in England to teach
jujutsu at the request of a Mr. B.B. Barton-Wright.
More Japanese arrived at the turn of the
century, and through numerous demonstrations
and exhibitions, jujutsu became very popular
in Britain. However, it was not until 1918
that the first official judo club was founded
in Europe. In January of 1918, Gunji Koizumi
(1885-1965) opened the Budokwai dojo in
London. The Budokwai was originally a Japanese
community centre and was frequented by members
of the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy and
their families who were stationed in London.
Although the Budokwai was a judo club, judo
was still often referred to as jujutsu in
the early 1900's. It was not until 1920,
that the word "judo" actually became widespread.

Koizumi, who is often referred to as the
"father of British judo", was born in Ibaraki
prefecture, some twenty miles north of Tokyo.
Like Kano before him, Koizumi was an accomplished
martial artist. He began studying kenjutsu
("the art of the sword"), when he was only
twelve years old. He later studied at the
Tenshin-Shinyo ryu under Master Nobushige
Tago. In 1904, Koizumi traveled to Fusen,
Korea where he studied at a school run by
an ex-samurai named Nobukatsu Yamada. Yamada
taught him the techniques of the Shin-Shin
ryu; jujutsu, and katsu. Two years later,
in 1906, Koizumi moved to Singapore where
he studied the 144 techniques of the Akijima
ryu. In May of the same year, Gunji Koizumi
arrived in England and began teaching jujutsu
in Liverpool, before opening the London
Budokwai in 1918.

Unfortunately, due to the British Museum
being extensively damaged in World War II
during the Blitz on London, many of the
records related to the early history of
judo in Britain have been destroyed. Never
the less, the introduction of judo in Britain
helped the spread of judo throughout the
rest of Europe, particularly in France,
Germany and Holland.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Yoshiaki
Yamashita, who was a student of Jigoro Kano,
introduced judo to America in 1902. Yamashita
came to the United States at the request
of President Theodore Roosevelt, who had
previously learned judo under the instruction
of Yamashita while in Japan.

Judo developed slowly in the United States,
with dojo opening primarily on the west
coast and in Hawaii. As mentioned previously,
Jigoro Kano visited the U.S. in 1932 while
attending the Olympic Games and it was during
this visit that four yudanshakai (black-belt
organizations) were formed. These were located
in Southern California, Northern California,
Seattle, and Hawaii. American judo received
a strong boost following the Second World
War as many servicemen who had been stationed
in Japan had studied judo at the Kodokan
and upon their return to the U.S., set up
judo clubs of their own.

The introduction of judo to Canada also
occurred on the west coast. The year was
1924, and a young Japanese judoka by the
name of Takagaki opened Canada's first dojo.
The opening of this dojo served both sport
and social purposes. Jigoro Kano eventually
visited Vancouver and named the Canadian
dojo the Kidokan. During the war years,
many Japanese Canadians were forced to relocate
east of the Rockies and as a result, judo
was spread eastward. After WWII ended many
Japanese chose to remain in their new communities
and this led to the beginning of judo in
places such as Alberta, Toronto and Montreal.

By the 1950's, judo was well established
in North America and Europe. In 1956, the
inaugural World Judo Championships were
held in Tokyo, Japan. At the second World
Championships in 1958, one of the pioneers
of judo in Ontario, Masatoshi Umetsu, represented
Canada. At this time, judo had not yet implemented
weight categories and therefore, there was
only one division to be contested for. The
domination of the Japanese was apparent
at the first two World Championships, but
at the third World's held in Paris in 1961,
a new champion emerged. This was the giant
Dutchman, Anton Geesink, who also went on
to win the first ever Olympic gold medal
in judo in 1964.

In the decades to follow, the Japanese continued
to reign supreme in the judo world, although
recently the tide has shifted. Judo is now,
more than ever, a truly international sport.
World and Olympic champions have come from
virtually all of the major European countries,
as well the United States and Brazil and
many smaller nations such as Cuba and the
Yugoslavia. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games,
Montreal native, Nicolas Gill won a silver
medal in the -100kg division, to go along
with his bronze medal from the 1992 Olympics
in Barcelona, and his medals from the 1993
and 1999 World Judo Championships, showing
that Canada too, is making a name for itself
in the Judo World.

Although it can be said that judo is now
a truly international sport, it still retains
much of its Japanese heritage. Wherever
judo is practiced throughout the world,
its terminology and customs remain Japanese.
Upon entering and leaving a dojo, a judoka
bows to a portrait of Professor Jigoro Kano
as a sign of respect for the man who created
this unique sport. Thus, with the many Western
ideas and products that have been brought
into Japan since the Meiji Restoration (some
more freely than others), it is comforting
to know that the Japanese have given many
"gifts'" to the West in return. Judo is
one of the more precious of these.